Daily Digest - May 2: What Piketty Tells Us About the Power of Big Thinkers

Roosevelt Institute Fellow Mike Konczal joins Brian Lehrer to explore some notable responses to Capital in the 21st Century, from the Financial Times to Esquire to Mike's own piece in the Boston Review.

Roosevelt Institute Fellow Dorian Warren talks to Alex Wagner and Heather McGhee about the fight for a living wage, and notes that progressives are succeeding at the local level even when the federal government is unresponsive.

Roosevelt Institute Fellow Susan Crawford, Fuzz Hogan, and Dan Tangherlini discuss the lack of tech expertise in the public sector and how to build a culture that makes government work more appealing. The segment begins at 12:24.

The deal requires large businesses in the city to raise the minimum wage in three years, reports Niraj Chokshi, but allows small businesses seven years to comply. The City Council will take up the bill next week.

Roosevelt Take: Roosevelt Institute President and CEO Felicia Wong delivered the closing remarks at the mayor's recent symposium, where she said calls for a higher minimum wage were calls for democracy.

Jessica Stites speaks to progressive thinkers who call for seemingly opposite approaches to making life better for waged workers in today's economy: full employment, and less work with a universal basic income.

Why Poverty Is Still Miserable, Even if Everybody Can Own an Awesome Television (Slate)

Consumer goods like TVs and cell phones are cheaper than ever, writes Jordan Weissmann, but for low-income families, essentials like health care and education are getting further and further out of reach.

Roosevelt Institute President and CEO Felicia Wong writes that Thomas Piketty's success is no fluke. He and other progressive thinkers have redefined the debate around inequality with the power of their ideas.